The Skyrim Guardian
by Elethor98
Summary: In Tamriel nothing is right anymore. The Dragonborn is leading one of the biggest wars of all time against the Thalmor. But he looks back to his past and remembers to how it all began with one fateful day in a cart. As he goes through his adventures he becomes the one thing he never would have thought... A leader.
1. Chapter 1

The Skyrim Guardian

PROLOUGE: Thirador had his hands on the table in front of him. Leaning on it tiredly, lost in thought. He never aspired to be a leader. Let alone a leader of one of the biggest wars in history, the second war against the Aldmeri Dominion. The tent that was pitched for him was mainly for his maps and other documents. He slept outside underneath the stars with his men, instead of living like a general in a nice warm tent. _I'm no damn paper pusher,_ he thought, _I am better at going in and getting the job done._ He could hear the flapping of banners in the cold wind. Smell the grass and smoke rising from the camp. The war against the Aldmeri Dominion had been going on for months. His troops had covered very little ground on the elves, and soon the cold weather was coming in. He didn't know if he could raise spirits enough for his men to pull through the winter. _It's not like they have much choice anyway. If they give up and go home the damn Thalmor will just slaughter them as soon as they get there._ He wished he could do more but he didn't exactly have enough men to assuredly win this war. The empire firmly stayed out of the fighting until a clear winner was decided. They were cowards. What reason does a man need to defend his home from oppression? He face curved into a grim smile. He remembered the general of the Stormcloak rebels saying almost the exact same thing a little over a year ago. So much had happened since then. Life felt simpler way back then. For some reason the men in his camp _wanted_ to follow him. He couldn't even fathom why. He sat down in a nearby chair and rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept since gods know when. He looked over to the chest weathered in age and opened it. Pulling out his last bottle of Graybuck whiskey, he uncorked it and drank deeply. The burn in his throat was nice and the warmth was also welcome. He heard the rustle of the tent and saw Aela, Farkas, and Vilkas emerge into the room. The Companions looked worn and haggard but still looked fierce enough to best any man or mer in a fight.

"Welcome friends." He said "How are you faring in the weather? Is it starting to get bad?"

Aela spoke for the group "We are fine. Cold does not bother us as it does most people. As for the weather… it is starting to bite deep in the army's bones. With the way the wind is, fires don't help much."

Thirador nodded knowingly. "I'm going to walk amongst them soon. Help where I can with the wounded and try to raise the moral a little. Their hearts might lighten to see their leader care. However, that's not the only reason you came is it?"

Aela shook her head. "Our scouts have reported back. They say a massive Thalmor armor is massing south of here. By the way they are moving, they will be here in three days. We were wondering what you want to do about it."

"Hmmm, it seems the elves decided to snuff out our little act of defiance, and quickly too. I'll have to think on it more before I can give orders about what to do." He said. Aela nodded and with that he rose from his chair and walked out of the tent. Looking over the battered soldiers stuck out in the open. Only a little over two thousand men and women decided to help in the war. The elves main army alone numbered at ten thousand. _Gods above don't let this be for nothing. They've come so far in this war to be crushed in a single battle._ He closed his eyes and remembered how this all started. A misunderstanding and a fateful day in a prison cart….

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 1: Mistaken prisoner

The first thing he felt was the rocking of the wagon. He could smell the horses. Hear the clopping of their feet upon the stony road. He couldn't remember how he got here. To think of it he couldn't remember much of anything. Not why he was there, his agenda, or even his name. As his eyes opened he realized his hands were bound, along with the hands of many other men in the cart. He tried lifting his head off his shoulders but a sudden agonizing pain coursed through him. He didn't cry out though, for some reason he felt like he shouldn't. He started again at a slower pace this time and he continued through the complaints of his abused body. A man across from him, Nord from the shape of his face and build, was staring.

"Hey you're finally awake. Thought we lost you there for a second. The Imperials wouldn't heal you. Though a priestess slipped you a healing tonic. She said it would keep you from dying however; a side effect might be small amnesia. You were trying to cross the border right? Walked straight into that Imperial ambush, same as us." The Nord looked down sadly at his hands. "I'm Ralof by the way".

 _Imperial ambush? Who are the Imperials?_ Then he took what the Nord had said about amnesia. _I still don't see what I was doing near an ambush sight._

" Damn Stormcloaks, everything was better until you came along. Empire was fat and lazy. I could have stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell by now." Another man at the end said. I looked at the final man in the wagon. He had a noble air around him. For some reason this man had a gag in his mouth. "What's with him?" asked the horse thief.

Ralof snapped" Show some respect boy! That's Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak the true high king of Skyrim."

The thief's eyes went wide and said" Ulfric Stormcloak? You're the leader of the rebellion! But if they have you then….. oh gods where are they taking us?!"

"I don't know where we're going horse thief, but Sovengarde awaits." Said Ralof

"Quiet down back there." An Imperial guard snapped from the front of the wagon.

"What village are you from horse thief?" asked Ralof

"Why do you care!?"

"a Nords last thoughts….. Should be of home..." Said Ralof

The thief seemed to cool down, "Rorikstead, I'm…. I'm from Rorikstead"

As they got into the village, which Ralof said was Helgen; I noticed quite a few wagons of people. A man who was of his 50s and was clad in gilded armor walked towards their group. _He must be in charge of these soldiers._

"That would be General Tullius" observed Ralof.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, it's high time you were executed. For all the lives you cost, this will be good to watch." Said the general. Instead of getting mad, Ulfric just stared calmly at the man. _I guess he already made his peace_.

Soon everyone was called off the wagons and had to step forward when their name was called. The person calling names looked strangely like Ralof. The difference was the eyes, the hair and the beard. Ralof had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a beard while this man had dark brown hair, brown eyes and no beard. The man went through the names and as he called Ralof he was given a look that held back fierce anger from the blonde Nord.

"Lokir of Rorikstead!" the man said

It was the horse thief.

"No you can't do this! I'm not a rebel!" he ran past the guards and got halfway down the street when he was filled with arrows. All archers made their mark. When it came to be his turn to get called, the man, whose name he discovered was Hadvar, said,

"Who are you?"

"I'm not sure..."

A guard then walked to Hadvar and said "He was slipped a magic healing tonic upon picking him up. A priestess slipped it to him after we ambushed the Stormcloaks. The man looked like a group of saber cats got a hold of him sir. She said it might give him amnesia because it was so powerful."

"I see. Well let's see if we can help you remember who you are." Hadvar said patiently "You are of tall height and medium build." Hadvar said as he walked around him "you have long brown hair that has smaller braids holding it back, probably something your mother started doing when you were young. You have a scar across the side of your face that looks to have come from a sword, maybe a dangerous past. You have blue eyes, perhaps dominant from your father along with the height. Your beard is border line stubble so I'm guessing you don't like having a mammoth on your face. You look like a Nord but you also look like a Imperial. Maybe you're a mix. However I have never seen a mix such as you before. Now, let's figure our your name."

He thought long and hard till it finally clicked

"Thirador… my name is Thirador." I said.

"Thirador? That's a strange name." Hadvar looked over his list twice before saying "Captain he's not on the list. What should we do with him?"

"Forget the list he goes to the block" she said angrily.

Hadvar said"I'm sorry prisoner, please step in line with the others"

General Tullius then said "you all get to have your last blessing"

A priestess then walked next to the chopping block and said "may the gods-"

"Let's get this over with Imperials. I haven't got all morning" a Stormcloak soldier said as he walked up and laid his head on the block. The captain then put her foot on his back as the executioner reared back and brought down the axe upon the man's neck. A wet squelch sounded before his head hit the basket.

The captain pushed the remains over with her foot. As she did so, a distant roar sounded off towards the mountains.

"What was that?" asked Hadvar

"Next prisoner. The one to stupid to know his own name"

She meant him. As he walked over, he was forced to his knees and his head was slammed into the block. Thirador saw the axe swinging back when a defining roar pierced the air and a huge black dragon landed on top of a small stone tower.

"What in Oblivion is that!?" general Tullius yelled

The dragon then roared again attacking the soldiers and townspeople foolish enough to be on the street. Ralof grabbed me and helped run to a watchtower across the street. Ulfric and a few other Stormcloaks made it to the building. Ralof looked to Ulfric and asked "Jarl Ulfric could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't burn down villages" Ulfric retorted

Ralof looked to Thirador, "come, up the stairs"

As they we're moving up, the wall exploded inward killing two men while the dragons head snaked in and grabbed another unsuspecting Nord.

"Do you see that building over there?" asked Ralof who was looking out of the hole. "Jump over there and we'll catch up to you"

So Thirador jumped to the other building and as he landed he put one foot slightly in front of the other to roll smoothly. He ran from the burning building so he would not get caught in the torrents of flame that were writhing about. As he exited he saw Hadvar grab a young boy and pull him to safety. He told a man in the street to get the boy to safety. Hadvar turned to see Thirador standing there and asked ," still alive prisoner? Keep with me if you want to stay that way" They ran through the burning building and mauled corpses that were littering the street. As they ran they chanced upon Ralof. Both men drew their weapons towards each other.

"You're not going to stop us this time Hadvar" Ralof shouted angrily

"Do you think I'm going to let you escape, traitor?" Hadvar asked

As the dragon attacked again the two men dispersed and each told Thirador to follow them. He thought for half a second and followed Ralof. The one who _hadn't_ tried to kill him minutes before. they went into a keep and Ralof cut the binds that were still on his wrists. Ralof looked at the Stormcloak who was on the floor bleeding and said "He won't be needing that gear anymore. Go ahead and take It." it was a bit small but Thirador wasn't going to complain. It was better than the dirty ripped tunic he was wearing. The deep blue cuirass was made from thick leather with small metal studs over the shoulders along with leather bracers and boots, the armor offered little protection. However the gear wasn't made for that, it was made for quick strikes and fast movement. He lifted the iron axe off the ground and twirled it lightly a few times. As his memories were slowly coming back he realized that an axe was not his weapon of choice. He thought that a sword might be a better option. His thinking time was over when Ralof hissed "Imperials! Stay quiet!" they moved to the sides of the doorway and waited. As the soldiers walked through he and Ralof were upon them. The imperials armor was much better than the Stormcloaks and took more than one hit to bring down the person wearing it. Unless, of course, you went for the obvious and hit the head. Thirador buried the iron axe into the head of the nearest imperial he then grabbed the man's sword from his sheath as he fell. Ralof was engaging the other soldier while Thirador and the captain circled each other

"I think it would have been wise to put me on the chopping block first." Thirador said.

The captain eyed him for a moment "aye it would have" she said

She attacked with an overhead blow which Thirador caught high. He stuck her in the stomach and she let out a grunt. As she went to strike again, low to the side this time, he kicked sword out of her hands so gracefully it looked practiced. He held the point of the sword towards her neck as she closed her eyes. He ran her through to finish the job. Ralof had finally got the better of the other soldier and he looked upon what Thirador had done.

"How did you manage this?" Ralof asked wide eyed

"I have absolutely no idea" Thirador said honestly. "It's like my body took over for me."

"Still having trouble remembering?"

Thirador nodded" Something's have come back but it's fuzzy"

"Well, let's just focus on getting out of here." Ralof said

As they made their way through the keep the chanced upon a torture room making short work of the soldiers and freed some of Ralof's fellow Stormcloaks. They collected their gear and moved along through. The keep went deeper till it turned into an escape cave. They heard imperials and Thirador told them to stay put while he listened.

"…. I told you I'm not staying to get eaten by a dragon!" _for an imperial soldier he sure is a wimp_

"And I told YOU that no one is going through that tunnel until General Tullius arrives or we get different orders. Now are you going to follow command or earn a swift death?" his commander yelled angrily

The man steamed but stayed quiet. Thirador nodded towards the Stormcloaks and they all snuck towards him. On his word they charged the unsuspecting enemy. The Stormcloaks were outnumbered by at least ten men. But that didn't slow them down. They had killed at least that many before the imperials even knew what was going on. As Thirador slashed left and right separating limbs and blood ,the archers had killed three Stormcloaks. Grabbing a shield off a dead imperial he barreled through the soldiers to get to the archers. All of them were dead in a matter of seconds. As he turned to face the last of the enemy all that was behind him was Ralof and the few remaining Stormcloaks. They were battered and bloody but it was nothing serious. Ralof looked at him and said "you're going to have to teach me to fight like that one day." With a grin on his face.

Thirador smiled and caught his breath "Let's keep moving"

The Stormcloaks wanted to stay behind in case Jarl Ulfric came through, so Thirador and Ralof went ahead alone. They killed overgrown spiders that smelt like rotting meat and traveled far through grey rock. As they were going through an open section of cave there was a sleeping cave bear lying under a ray of sun coming through a crack in the caves ceiling. It looked like it was doing that for warmth. Ralof whispered "I'd rather not tangle with it if it's all the same to you. Let's just sneak around and see if we can get by." At first Thirador thought it would be a good idea however he felt something in his mind that wanted the bear as a challenge. He handed Ralof his sword and started toward the bear

"What are you-", but Thirador put a finger to his lips and walked towards the bear. It lifted its head up and growled as he got close. The bear stood upon its hind legs and Thirador realized this was a terrible idea, the bear stood at 7 and a half feet tall. Much larger than it looked lying down. It was about a foot taller than he was so it would have an advantage. The bear roared at him, eyes wild and saliva flying out of its mouth. For some reason he did not feel fear like he thought he should have instead he got a crazy idea… "AAHHHHHHH!" he yelled. The bear was taken aback for a moment at how loud he had just yelled. Thirador saw his opening and jumped upon the bears back wrestling the massive creature back and forth. The bear howled in fury and reached back far enough to grab Thirador and throw him off. A few scratches were all he got and charged back for more. He slid under the bear as it dropped down to swipe at him, narrowly missing his face. He again jumped on the bears back and wrapped his arms around its neck. The bear squirmed and howled and fought but to no avail. Thirador heaved back with one final jerk and the bear's neck snapped. The monster hit the ground with a deafening thud. Gasping for air, Thirador stepped back from the bear with Ralof eyeing him closely as he handed back the sword

"Never in my days have I witnessed anyone wrestle a cave bear. Even if it was a small one"

"Small? This was small?" asked Thirador

Ralof laughed and said" of course. Skyrim cave bears can grow to be fifteen feet for an average height!"

"You're joking?"

Ralof shook his head with a grin and they kept walking.


	2. Chapter 2

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 2: Meeting new people.

As they stepped out of the cave a cry rang out as Hadvar attacked Ralof from out of nowhere. "Traitor to the empire!" Hadvar shouted as he attacked.

"Traitor to our family!" Ralof screamed as he defended.

Thirador decided to let these two fight it out because somehow they knew each other. After a few minutes of fighting and bickering with each other Thirador grabbed their weapons and wrenched them from their hands. They were not expecting it.

"That's enough!" he said. They looked at him and then each other and began to fight with fists instead. Thirador rolled his eyes and threw down the weapons. He smacked them on the back of their heads then grabbed their ankles and pulled their feet out from under them. While they were on the ground massaging their heads and backsides, Thirador asked "who wants to explain to me what is going on?" when neither of them said anything he said "Well? We have all day to sit here. So someone better start talking. Or no one is going anywhere." Hadvar got up and walked to Thirador and said, "do you think you're one to stop us? We could take yo-"

Ralof piped up, "If you have a death wish Hadvar, then by all means attack him however I think I would like to live to see another day. Those dead imperials back there you no doubt saw, most of them were killed by his hand." Hadvar stared at Thirador a moment, who in turn did not blink or speak. "Very well." Hadvar said, "If you must know Ralof and I are cousins."

"WERE cousins you mean", Ralof said.

"You cannot change blood Ralof." Hadvar retorted.

"You should heed your own words..." Ralof fired back. Their arguments shot back and forth till Thirador stopped them

"ENOUGH!" he yelled. They stopped to look at him. "We will make camp here for the night then we will continue to the nearest village to warn them about the dragon attack." Hadvar and Ralof nodded and glared at each other till Hadvar said "That would be Riverwood. We have family there. It is a few hours away but what will we do for food? We don't have a bow to hunt." Thirador started walking towards the cave and said, "Meat won't be a problem."

"What's he talking about?" Hadvar asked.

"Probably the cave bear he just killed." Ralof replied

"He killed a cave bear?" said Hadvar.

Ralof nodded "He snapped its neck." And walked in casually after Thirador. Leaving Hadvar to stand dumbstruck.

While Ralof and Thirador were collecting the meat, Hadvar stayed outside and made a fire and spit to cook it upon. The fire would also keep away any predators and keep the trio warm during the night. After they ate Ralof quickly turned over and went to sleep. In a few minutes he was snoring loudly. Thirador was poking the fire with a stick while Hadvar was picking his teeth with a broken bone. "Are we going to talk about you and Hadvar now?"Asked Thirador.

"Might as well" Hadvar sighed. "Ralof and I grew up in Riverwood. We were closer than brothers. Our fathers actually were brothers but they died in the Great War. My mother got the pox when I was young so I didn't miss her much but losing my father was much harder. For Ralof and his mother it was even worse. She died soon of a broken heart so Ralof, his sister Gerdur, and I went to live with our uncle Alvor. Uncle is a smith so he didn't go to war. Which was good in a sense otherwise he would be dead also. Ralof soon hated the empire for our father's deaths. I didn't agree with the white-gold concordant, however I didn't turn my back on the empire like he and the rest of our family did. I believe that the Thalmor are our true enemy and I don't think we can fight them without the empire. The empire is our backbone. We wouldn't survive without them. Maybe my opinion is biased because I'm half imperial, as is obvious, but still…" Hadvar scowled and threw the bone in the fire. "At first it was fine. Young men with different opinions and all, but soon it got much more heated than that. We would argue for days on end and once I made a huge mistake. I lost my cousin by saying that 'be damned his Nord customs' he hit me so hard I was unconscious for two days. My pride was hurt more than my body was so I shunned him and he shunned me. We hardly spoke before we joined our separate factions. I discovered Ulfric's plans of battle and helped devise a plan to capture them. I knew if Ralof was with them he would die. It bothered me but I knew it had to happen. I saw the carnage you and he left in your wake. I had to kill him. But I still wish we could be close again. Damn this war and damn the Thalmor. But that is the story. That is how he would say it as well."

Thirador was quiet for a while "get some sleep. We leave at first light," as he rolled over he thought about what Hadvar had said. _Maybe they need to get out of this war._ He wondered. _I wish I could help them. But I'm just one man what could I do?_ Sleep quickly found him as he had not slept properly for a long time.

The next morning Thirador woke first and began cooking what was left of the bear meat. The other two awoke to the smell of the food and he could hear their stomachs rumbling. He smiled and gave them each a big serving which they both ate silently, never looking at one another. "Let's get moving. I'd like to get there soon. I'll let you guys lead the way since I'm new here." Thirador said. They trekked along through the woods and rocky hills. Thirador took in a deep breath through his nose and just marveled at how beautiful Skyrim was. Mountain ranges and open plains and blue rivers spread all over the place. They encountered three problems and all three were wolves. The beasts were discharged soon enough and they kept going. The group encountered a trio of stones that Ralof called _standing stones_. Thirador could feel the old magic coming from them and looked in wonder at the ancient design they had. As he ran his finger over the stone with an axe on it, the stone glowed white-blue and shot a ray of light into the heavens. His body started shimmering and tingling. After a few seconds it stopped and they kept moving, no one wanting to ask what happened. However Ralof briefly said something about a warriors blessing. So it seemed common enough for Thirador. Two hours later they got to the gates of Riverwood. "Alright, Ralof go to your sister Gerdur and Hadvar to your uncle Alvor. I just want to avoid further conflict. I'm going to speak to them about this dragon problem." They nodded and went separate ways. He went with Hadvar first. They heard the banging of a hammer and a man who was wider than he was tall. He was beating away at a yellow piece of iron when they got to the forge. Alvor was a fifty or so man with lots of smile lines upon his face and a long beard that seemed to be singed on more than one occasion.

"Hadvar? Is that really you?" the big man said.

"Hello uncle. How are you doing?" Alvor walked up picked up Hadvar around the middle and laughed saying,

"I'm doing well my boy! How are you? You seem pale."

Hadvar nodded, "Ralof is here in Riverwood as well. We have Thirador here to thank. He made us have a momentary truce. There's been a dragon attack at Helgen. We're not sure who survived it but I was thinking of going to Whiterun Hold and tell Jarl Balgruuf about. Maybe he would send some reinforcements here to Riverwood." Alvor nodded and looked at his nephew

"So you two finally made truce. At least it happened even a though it took a damn dragon to do it." He looked to Thirador "so you're the one I heard about. It seems I have you to thank for their safe return. If there is anything you need just ask. If it's within reason at least."

Thirador pulled out the cave bear pelt and asked "I was wondering if I could use your tools and forge to make some different armor from this leather. I just don't want to show favoritism on the war." The smith beamed again. Talking about blacksmithing was obviously something he enjoyed speaking of. "Of course sir! Hadvar you know where the house is. Get yourself something to eat and then we can talk later. First let me help this gentleman. So. What exactly did you have in mind?."

"Well I was thinking of some simple leather armor. You know pauldrons, bracers, boots, and a chest piece. Depending on how much was left I was hoping to trade the rest for some iron to reinforce the armor. Also I was curious if I could trade swords. Walking around with an imperial sword wouldn't exactly give me a good reputation from either side." Thirador said.

"Hmm… you seem to know what you are talking about. What methods of forging do you happen to use, if you don't mind me asking?" Alvor queried.

"A collection of them really. I use Pradecci's, Nadamadur's, and Horvath's. A combination of Cyrodill, Hammerfell, and Skyrim." Thirador told him.

Alvor became wide eyed and asked, "You really worked with all those master smiths? My, what I would have given to be you"

Thirador chuckled, "Don't let them fool you. For all their skill they act like mere children. Horvath more so when women are involved."

Alvor responded with a booming laughter "Don't we all? Well, whatever you need my forge is open. I'll help you out with your deal. Use steel instead of iron. It works better and doesn't cost much more." Alvor said.

Thirador thanked the man for his generosity and began work on his armor. It didn't take long and he asked Alvor where he could find Gerdur. After directions were given, he walked to the sawmill, next to the smithy. He saw a blonde woman talking to Ralof, who was sitting on a stump next to the river. As he approached Ralof noticed him and said "hello friend!"

"Hello Ralof" Thirador turned to the blonde woman. "My name is Thirador by the way. I assume you are Gerdur? Ralof's sister?" he extended his hand and she shook it.

"Yes that would be me. It's nice to meet you." She replied

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Thirador stated

"Not at all" Gerdur said. "We were just talking about you. I have a favor to ask if you're willing. Would you go to Whiterun and tell Jarl Balgruuf of the attack? We need troops in Riverwood in case it attacks."

Thirador nodded, "Aye, I will go. Hadvar had suggested a similar thing. I'll depart at once. Ralof could you do ME a favor?" he asked.

"To the best of my ability" Ralof replied.

"Good. I want you to try to get along with Hadvar." He raised his hand to stop Ralof when he tried to speak. "I know there is bad blood. But don't pitch your family away so easily. You only have one family. Stay away from the war for a little while. Help Gerdur with her mill. Something"

Ralof put his head down and thought for a moment. "Very well my friend. I will try to do as you ask however I request you do ask Hadvar the same. Talos guide you."

The two clasped forearms and separated. Thirador found Hadvar in Alvor's house and copied the request he gave Ralof. Hadvar was more accepting to it than his cousin.

"Good" Thirador said. "I leave for Whiterun in the morning. First I'm going to stop at the tavern and get myself a good drink. Take care Hadvar and I suggest staying away from the war for a few weeks. Tell your commander you got lost or something."

"That would be nice, friend." Hadvar told him. "Be safe on your journey" they clasped forearms as he and Ralof did before Thirador left.

He stopped at the inn and got a large stiff drink before traveling along the road. It was just past noon as he left the small, peaceful village. He was trudging along the road for a few hours when he saw three Thalmor soldiers leading a ragged looking Nord with his hands bound.

"Move out of the way peasant! This is the Dominions business!" the lead elf shouted.

"What exactly has he been charged with?" questioned Thirador, a stern look upon his face. He had absolutely no love for the Thalmor. The tonic still clouded his brain so he couldn't remember why. All he knew that a deep burning hatred bred for the Thalmor alone. Not the elves themselves.

"I said move along! Unless you want to end up in chains like this Talos worshiping bastard!" the elf yelled.

"Ah so that's it." It was no secret that the elves would kidnap people who they thought worshipped Talos. Talos was the hero god of man who, after creating the empire by conquering all of Tamriel, ascended into god-hood. The elves didn't like that at all and outlawed it after the Great War. "Well. I'm afraid. I won't be able to do that you see. So you'll have to let him go and go back to where ever you came from." He didn't want to kill anyone but he would if he had to.

The Thalmor looked at each other for a moment before bursting with laughter. "So... The big man is going to stop us?" asked one of the elves. He strode forward and drew his sword, pointing it at Thirador. "What are you going to do _Big Man_?" He swung his blade at Thirador, who in turn parried so fast the elf couldn't even see. Wide eyed, the other elves rushed forward to help. "Stop!" the first elf motioned "He's mine"

Thirador stood still as his foe took stance. The elf stepped in with a stab, Thirador parried again and spun around with his blade out, high to the side. The elf stood in shock as his head hit the ground. His body soon followed. The remaining elves ran forward to kill the stranger. Their prisoner however knocked over one of them so Thirador wouldn't be over encumbered. He killed the first relatively easy. Dodging the blade and slicing the elves spine in half. The last elf was on his stomach and when he tried to get up Thirador kicked him onto his back.

"What is the reason for this man's capture?" Thirador asked with a cold seriousness.

The elf looked very afraid yet still had his smug prude personality. "For forbidden worship of Talos. It is against the White-Gold Concordant and he must be punished as an example."

Thirador shook his head slowly. " _THAT_ … was the wrong answer." He said before he stabbed the elf in the chest. Blood pouring out of the Thalmor's mouth and nose was a sweet sight before his death.

"Who are you?" asked the prisoner who had cut his bonds during the elf's last minutes.

"I'm just a man who hates the Dominion" he replied "lets loot these bastards. We'll split anything. Just don't take their weapons. Most of them are marked with a sign so they would know who the owner was."

The man nodded and they got what gold and trinkets they could from the elves. When they were done they pulled the bodies off the road and hid them so only animals could find them.


	3. Chapter 3

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 3: Whiterun

They went their separate ways after they got done and Thirador tried to make a brisk pace to Whiterun. Every fork or spilt or turn had direction signs on it, so he knew he wasn't going to get lost. He saw the city in the distance and was amazed at the huge vast plains that surrounded it. It was staring to get dark so he hurried along at a smooth jog. The city was stacked up on what looked like the only hill for miles. As he was passing some farms he heard the clatter of metal and fighting. He rushed along to see where it was coming from. Four people were fearlessly fighting a massive giant. They kept trying to close in on it but it wouldn't give them the chance. Thirador decided he was going to help any way he could. The giant could hurt someone and cause no end of trouble. One of the fighters managed to land her arrow in the shoulder of the beast. The giant roared in furry and charged the woman. Thirador sprinted forward and grabbed the girl by the back of her belt. Yanking her backwards right before the giants club slammed into the ground at the exact spot she was standing. He ran forward slicing at the giant's legs causing it to fall to its knees. The remaining fighters ran forward and attacked furiously at the monster. Steaming with rage it swung its arm out making two of them fly backwards into the dirt. Thirador saw his chance and swung his sword with all his might at the giant's neck, cutting its throat. The giant hacked up blood for a moment before collapsing on the ground with a satisfying thud. Thirador was cleaning the blood off of his sword when the woman he pulled back walked up to him. Her fiery red hair was tucked behind her ears. War paint was spread across her face. She looked like an ancient Nord from the armor she was wearing. It looked that old and was the old style of steel. Two shoulder guards with a piece that wrapped around her middle. Simple steel plated boots and bracers was the only other thing.

"You handle yourself quite well." She said calmly "You should consider joining the Companions in Jorrvaskr."

"Who are the Companions?" He asked

She laughed in a mocking tone and said "you must be new here if you've never heard of the Companions. We're only the oldest order of fighters in Tamriel. Led here by Ysgramor himself five thousand years ago. He and the original five hundred Companions were the first to settle here in Tamriel."  
"Yes, I'm new" he said "I'll be sure to stop by"

"You do that" She said sarcastically. She and the others started walking towards Whiterun together. He guessed they were Companions as well. He noticed that her backside did have a nice swing to it.

"I didn't get your name!" he yelled.

"Aela!" she yelled back

He made his way up to the city and walked to the gate. There was a pair of guards standing watch. When they noticed him, one walked forward. "Halt! No one is allowed into the city at this moment."

"I need to speak with the Jarl. There's been a dragon attack at Helgen. Riverwood needs reinforcements soon in case they are attacked!" he told them.

"That sounds good enough reason to me. Go straight to the keep and don't delay. We closed the city because of the rumors." The guard said.

A different guard took him through the city since he had never been there before. They ran past buildings and confused people. As they got to the steps of the building sitting highest on the hill, the guard looked to him and said, "Straight up the stairs and you'll be there." Thirador thanked the man and tossed him a septim for helping him. He walked up the many steps and went through the massive doors. A huge room with tables on each side a giant fire pit was the main section of 'Dragons Reach' as a guard had told him. A balding man was talking to a man who was sitting in the throne. The man in the throne was an older man with blonde hair and a long blonde goatee. He was obviously the Jarl. He had a silver circlet on his head and carried himself with the air of command. An armored dark elf woman drew her sword and walked cautiously towards him from the Jarls side.

"What's the meaning of this?" she asked

"I have to speak to the Jarl about the dragon attack." He replied with a straight face.

She quickly sheathed her sword, "that explains why the guards let you in. Come, talk to Jarl Balgruuf."

The Jarl looked at Thirador and asked "What is it? Obviously it was important if the guards let you past." "There was a dragon attack at Helgen." I replied. A few of the higher end people gasped at the news. "I'm not sure how many people survived but I DO know that not many people lived. Also the people of Riverwood were wondering if you would send reinforcements in case the dragon decided to attack. They are left practically unprotected."

The Jarl looked down towards the floor, lost in thought. "Certainly." He finally said. He motioned towards the dark elf. "Send a detachment to the village at once." She bowed her head and left the room to talk to a captain.

"My lord, that is unwise." The balding man said to the Jarl "We need those troops to better protect the city."

"I'm not willing to sit by idly as a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people!" The Jarl said, angrily rising from his seat.

"Of course. I'll attend to my other duties milord." The little man said as he walked up the stairs to a different room.

"I am Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun." He extended his hand and Thirador shook it. "Proventus is a good man, however foolish sometimes." The Jarl said calmly "I have a question for you… what were you doing in Helgen?"

"For some reason I was badly injured and captured by the Imperials. I still have no clue why. A priestess slipped me some kind of healing potion and it gave me amnesia. I was set for the chopping block when the dragon attacked. They mistook me for a rebel but I later found out FROM the rebels that I was not. " Thirador said with a straight and blank face.

"I see… well whatever criminal activity you might have had is behind you right?" asked the Jarl.

"I can assure you that I was not a criminal. I have feelings that I don't understand. I have the feeling to help people, so I doubt I was a criminal." He said, again with a cold blank face.

"I shall take your word for it. Why else would you travel all the way from Riverwood? Here's a small reward for your deed." The Jarl handed him a leather coin pouch with about a hundred septims in it.

"Thank you Jarl. I didn't do it for a reward though." He tried to hand it back but the Jarl shook his head.

"Consider it an advanced payment then. I have a favor to ask if you are available. What is your name lad?" The Jarl said.

"Of course. What is it you need? And it would Thirador." Thirador asked

"A good name that. Come, let's talk to my court wizard, Farengar." As they walked into a side room for the wizards experiments. Jarl Balgruuf got the attention of a thin man wearing odd robes. "Farengar, this man is going to help us with our dragon problem. Give him the information he needs and he'll be off." The Jarl then walked back to his throne room leaving the men alone. The mage walked up to him and shook his hand

"So you have an experience with a dragon? What was it like?" the excited mage said

Thirador leaned in close, seriousness griping his entire face. "Do not become excited and giddy about that demon. It rained fire and death down from the heavens. No one in that village stood a chance against it."

The man went white with fear and swallowed deeply "Right! I need you to go to Bleak Falls Barrow. It's an old crypt south of Whiterun. There is an old stone tablet called the 'Dragon Stone'. It should shed some light on the situation at hand." Thirador nodded his head and left the room. As he walked through the city he stopped in the various shops and stores just to browse and see what stock they had. He went to the 'Bannered Mare' tavern and got himself, and everyone inside, a strong drink. The pub had something called 'Graybuck Whiskey'. He instantly fell in love with the concoction. He saw a temple devoted to some god and he went inside. Maybe someone there could help him with his memory problem. He saw a priestess there and asked about the effects of the potion.

"Hmmm. A healing potion you say? That gave you a serious case of amnesia?" she asked. Thirador nodded. "Well time will give your memory back at its own pace. A potion powerful enough to keep you from death can be pricey. I don't know how long it will take so I can answer any questions you might have to help you until you regain your mind."

Thirador nodded and began his barrage of questions. The priestess told him as much as she could. Apparently Skyrim is divided between two factions. The empire and the Stormcloaks. The Stormcloak rebels seceded after Ulfric Stormcloak challenged the high king Torygg to a dual, slaughtering the man.. They fought to take back Skyrim for the 'true Nord's'. Ulfric didn't care for the empire after they outlawed Talos and when they started kissing the asses of the Thalmor. The empire was fighting to take back Skyrim as one of their lands. They also didn't want to be weakened further by losing Skyrim's resources and soldiers. The empire had been weakened greatly by the Great War that happened a little over twenty years ago. The high elves or altmer and the wood elves or bosmer joined together to create the Aldmeri dominion. They invaded the imperial city in Cyrodill and burned most of it. After long fighting the empire won it back but the war was fought into a bloody stalemate. The elves made a contract called the 'White-Gold Concordant' and forced the emperor to sign it. One of the rules was to outlaw the worship of Talos. As far as the gods went, he discovered that Akatosh or Auri-el is the dragon-god of time and the chief god, Arkay is the god of funeral rites, Dibella is goddess of beauty and sexual desire, Julianos is the god of wisdom and logic, Kynareth or Kyne is the goddess of nature, wind, and sky, Mara is the mother goddess and goddess of love, Talos is the god of war and governance, Zenithar is the god of work and commerce. The Nords had another god called Shor, who is the warrior god of the afterlife. Nord warriors who die in battle go the place called Sovengarde, a place apparently filled with the souls of ancient hero's of old. Other information was gathered and Thirador thanked the priestess and went about on his journey. As he was leaving the city he looked over the plains to the vast mountain ranges in the distance. Smelt the cool air that was blowing his hair back slightly. He watched as the eagles and robins floated on the currents of wind. Skyrim was one of the most beautiful places he could think of which, because of the tonic, weren't very many. After taking in the scenery, he walked down the worn path.


	4. Chapter 4

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 4: Bleak Falls Barrow

Thirador hadn't gotten far before three bandits stepped in the middle of the road. As he looked closer they weren't really bandits, just youths in dirty clothing.

"You're blocking the road." He said calmly.

"Well, if you want to keep walking you're going to have to pay." The tallest one said. He scratched his chin as he thought "I think that seventy septims will do nicely."

Thirador looked at him a moment before falling into a side splitting laughter. "Hahahahaha! Go home boys. You kids should be chopping fire wood, shoveling horse shit, or chasing young girls. Not shaking down people on the road. Bad things happen to hagglers." His tone had gotten very serious. The two younger ones looked shaken but the big brute was dead set on causing trouble.

"I think you're bluffing _old man_." The big one smiled

"I happen to be only twenty nine, _boy_." If it was one thing Thirador could not stand was being called old. He picked up a branch and stripped off the limbs on it. The boys drew their weapons as Thirador made his way over to them. _Humph nothing but daggers. Some highway men they are._ He knocked the two frightened boy's weapons from their hands in the first swing. Making them run away in fear like little children. The big brute only took one more swing to knock the iron dagger out of his hand. Thirador then threw the boy onto his stomach, spanking him wildly with the branch. The boy was screaming and writhing on the ground, trying to get away. "Now run… (Smack!)… home… (Smack!)…your mother!(Smack!)"

"Yes sir! Yes sir!" the boys yelled as they ran back towards the various farms along the city walls.

Thirador chuckled as he watched the boys kicking up dust with their heels. He kept walking along till he found the ancient crypt of Bleak Falls Barrow. A group of actual bandits, not the youth posers, were patrolling the place. He saw one walking around to the edge of the high walkway and threw a rock at his head. He missed however and hit the bandit's neck instead. the man lost his balance and tumbled down below hitting the ground with a nasty crunch. The rest of his comrades ran to his body to see what had happened. As soon as they crouched near the body, Thirador was upon them. Hacking and slashing till they all laid dead at his feet. He pilfered a long bow from one of them and about thirty steel tipped arrows. Good and balanced as well. He went through the massive doors and decided to take the quiet route. Two bandits were conversing with each other at the other end of the room, blocking the tunnel. He knocked an arrow and aimed at the bandit closest to him. He released his breath and fired. The arrow hit his target in the back of the head. The other bandit was so startled that he already fired another arrow before the man could even get his sword out. _That was almost too easy_ Thirador thought as he walked over the bodies. He made his way down the hall and was heard a skittering across the floor. As he went further he saw giant spiders as big as dogs coming straight towards him. He slew them with ease and kept walking.

After about twenty minutes of walking he heard someone shouting "Help! I need help!"

Thirador saw a man caught in a massive web, thrashing, but getting nowhere.

His eyes lit up when he saw Thirador. "You! You have to help me! It'll be back soon enough. Cut me down from here!"

As Thirador when to the man, a massive spider dropped from the ceiling shaking the very ground. The thing had to be the size of a horse if not bigger. Thirador went into the fight for his life. He very quickly devised a plan. Each time the spider shot out a leg to attack him, he would cut it off. It worked but after the second leg the abandoned that and jumped right at him, fangs dripping with poison. He fell back with his sword straight out. The monster falling atop it head first. He walked over to the man in the web and said "Why should I cut you down? Give me one reason."

"Because I'm the only one who knows how to get through the door. I have the gold claw! It's a puzzle key. Cut me down and I'll take you through there." The man pleaded

Thirador nodded and began to cut the man down. As soon as his feet touched the ground though, the man ran off saying, "You fool. Why should I share the treasure with anyone?"

Thirador gave chase but the man was faster. He saw him step on a stone in the ground that sunk inward. The man stopped instantly and said "Oh shit." Before a metal gate with spikes swung out and impaled him through his front. Thirador walked up to him and searched his bag. He found the golden claw wrapped up in a rag. It was very old and had different pictures on the palm. It looked to be a dragon claw. He didn't get very far when he noticed burial holes in the wall. As he started to look closer he noticed they _moved_. They stepped out of their final sleeping place and moved towards him, drawing ancient weapons. _You've got to be kidding me_. He thought. He fought them to the best of his ability. _For being dead the last few thousand years, these guys are dangerous_. He earned a cut to the arm but barely felt it. he fought long and hard till he made it to a big stone door. It was an odd door though. It had three stone circles one on the of the other, and a place in the middle that looked like a three prong keyhole. As he looked at the claw he noticed some of the designs on it matched the door. And that the claws looked like they would fit in the hole. He moved all the circles around until he matched them up with the claw and slowly turned the claw inside the holes. He heard a thud and the door dropped down a inch at a time. A large room was on the other side with a big coffin and a stone wall with odd carvings on it. it felt as though a bubble popped in his mind as he realized what the dead things names were. The _drauger_ that's what they're called. They were cursed with un-life in ancient days for worshiping the dragons and betraying the rest of humanity. He walked along to look for the dragon stone when the door of the coffin shot off. Slowly a drauger climbed out. It was more powerful than the others before it were. It was a drauger lord. Holding its ancient battle axe it charged at Thirador. He did the only thing he could do and dove out of the way. It whipped around to strike again but he caught it on his shield, denting the steel. They fought for a few minutes, neither of them getting anywhere when all of a sudden the drauger looked at him and bellowed _at_ Thirador. He flew backwards off the small stage they were on and hit the stone floor with a painful crack. He looked up at the drauger lord who appeared to be _laughing_ at him.

"I'll be damned if you laugh at me you damned skin bag." He said as he ran up the stair to face his foe. He slashed at the drauger's exposed middle and followed with a stab to the face. It happened so fast Thirador thought he might pass out. He looked inside the coffin and found the dragon stone and put it in his pack. He heard some kind of _chanting_ at the wall with the carving on it and he walked towards it. it seemed the chanting came from the wall. As he got closer a word glowed blue and the world starting going dark. His head was pounding with pressure as the word filled him. He instantly knew what the word said. 'FUS' he didn't know what it meant and he didn't care. He was getting out of there with anything of worth and was never coming back.

AUTHORS NOTES: sorry this one is so short. i didnt realize it until i got ready to publish. please someone leave a reveiw of follow or something! i need some input on my writing and how i can improve. also if you like the story i would love to hear about it.


	5. Chapter 5

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 5: A Jarl's gift.

Thirador was walking up the stairs to Dragonsreach slowly. He was very tired. After the guards opened the door to the keep, he walked to the court mages room and handed him the dragon stone. There was a woman there as well looking over a map on the table.

"This is the man I told you about! He just retrieved the tablet from Bleak Falls Barrow." Farengar said to the woman.

"You went to Bleak Falls Barrow and got out alive? Huh, better than the usual brutes Farengar gets for his dirty work." She said curtly.

Thirador nodded. "Well I'm going to go report to the Jarl. Farengar, ma'am." And he walked up the stairs next to the main hall to see the Jarl talking to Proventus.

The Jarl looked over to him and spoke "Ah I see you have returned. I hope everything wen-"

"Jarl!" Irilith yelled "There you are! I have a solider here from the western watch tower. Apparently its being attacked by a dragon. Soldier, tell him what you saw."

A man behind her stepped forward and said,"It came fast. Very fast. We never even saw it coming. We fought it to no avail. Others tried to run but the dragon didn't let them get far. I barely escaped with my life. I had to come get help sir."

"Good man." The Jarl said. "Go eat and rest in the holds barracks son. You've earned it."

The guard saluted by slamming him fist into his chest and left.

"Irilith, I want you to take our best troops and go to the watchtower. See if there are any survivors and try to kill that dragon." The Jarl turned to Thirador and said, "I'm afraid we don't have time for pleasantries. I need you to go with Irilith and try to stop that damn beast."

Thirador nodded and walked with Irilith. They didn't speak as she collected her ten men and they fast marched to the watchtower. There was a smell of burning flesh and fire could be seen all around the place.

"Alright men, we need to check for any survivors. Be on the lookout for that overgrown lizard in case it decides to come back." The dark elf said.

The guards slowly walked around the tower looking for anyone that survived the onslaught. Thirador and Irilith went to the door of the tower and it opened revealing a bloody guard screaming "Run you fools! It's going to come back! It's… going... to..." then the man dropped dead on the ground. Most likely from loss of blood. Before they could check on him they heard a roar off in the distance. Everyone tensed, ready for a fight. It came out of nowhere, swooping in and snatching a soldier up in its talons. It carried the man high in the air before releasing. The soldiers screams were blood chilling before hitting the ground with a grisly crunch. The beast then circled around and landed a good hundred feet from Thirador. It bathed a few men in fire, killing them instantly. Thirador broke into a run, shield held high and sword leveled next to him. As he neared the dragon he gave a battle cry and it looked at him. It reared back to bite him but he didn't give it the chance. Running right by, while slicing at its neck. The beast howled in pain and anger and snaked its head down to close its jaws around him. He quickly dodged and grabbed one of the monsters horns, swinging himself onto its head. He stabbed his sword deep into the base of the dragon's skull, killing it before it could shake him off. He jumped down as the beast hit the ground dead at his feet. However, the skin slowly started burning away and light left its body , shooting straight towards Thirador. He could do nothing about it, but at the same time he didn't know if he wanted to. The feeling was warm and comforting. He noticed that it healed his aches, pains and cuts. Soon nothing was left of the dragon but bones. He took a step back not knowing what happened. The guards were looking at him with dumbstruck expressions.

One of them stepped forward and said, "Could the legends be true? Are you… Dragonborn?"

Thirador looked at him as if he was stupid. "What the hell is a Dragonborn?"

"You know a man with a dragon soul. They shout like the dragons. Can you shout?" the guard asked.

"I'm not sure…" Thirador said. He thought about it and it was like his body already knew to do. "FUS!" and as soon as he said it the guards in front of him staggered back a few feet as if they were all struck.

Irilith walked up to him and said "I don't know anything about any of this. Just go report to the Jarl. We're going to bury the deceased."

Thirador began his trek back to Whiterun when all of a sudden the ground began to shake and he heard very loud voices riding the wind saying, "DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN!" the noise died slowly and he walked to the city completely unaware of what was going on. As he passed the stables he noticed a mammoths tusk slightly sticking out of the ground. He decided he would go see what it was worth maybe for a little extra coin. He walked by the venders stalls in the city when he bumped into a woman carrying a basket of potatoes, knocking them over.

"My apologies." He said and began to pick up the potatoes for her.

"Thank you" She said. "You're the one who helped the Companions kill that giant outside of town right?"

"Yes, that would be me." He said with a smile.

"You are very bold to put yourself in danger like that. I'm Ysolda by the way." She told him while twirling her hair in her fingers.

"I appreciate your words dear lady." He tried to make the conversation continue. The woman was not unpleasant to look at and had a fairly large chest, which he found hard to keep his eyes away from. "So what do you do around here?" he asked

"I'm a trader. I mainly do vegetables and such. I have been trying to get the Khajiit outside the city to teach me how to get better. I want to get enough money to buy the Bannered Mare from Hulda one day, but the damn cat wants a mammoth tusk for payment. I don't know how I'll get one though."

"As it just so happens I have one here I found. You can have it if you like." Thirador said.

Ysolda's eyes lit up and took the tusk. "Oh thank you! With this I'll be able to learn the craft from that tit fisted cat. How can I ever repay you?" she asked

"Well, I could use a drinking partner tonight at the bannered mare." He said

Ysolda's cheeks went red and smiled before saying, "Why I _suppose_ I could. I guess I'll see you there." She said with a wink and walked away.

Thirador watched her for a moment about how the night would end. He knew it would end as the nights always did… in a giant smile. As he walked up the stairs he stopped and guessed his memory must be coming back if he remembered how nights usually ended with pretty women. _What fun this is going to be when my mind returns to its old._ So he merrily went through the door he saw Jarl Balgruuf sitting on his throne waiting for him. He went up to the man and gave him the report, even about the Dragonborn part.

"So it was you the Graybeards were calling then? Well you need to go see them when you can. It must be important." The Jarl stood and walked over to Thirador and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't have anything that could properly reward the service you have given Whiterun. So I offer you two things, the first is from my personal armory, the axe of Whiterun. The second is to become thane of this hold. It's an honorary title mostly but it has its perks. Will you accept?"

Thirador nodded and said "Of course"

The Jarl smiled "Good. I have assigned Lydia to be your housecarl." Thirador saw a woman with shoulder length black hair approach and stand next to the jarl ." Also with your title of thane you have permission to buy an available house in the city if you so wish."

"Thank you Jarl. This is more than I could have ever asked for." Thirador said, bowing his head slightly.

Balgruuf nodded and dismissed him. The Jarl seemed like a good enough man. He was fair, he met with his subjects when they had grievances, he cared more for the people than he did himself, and he didn't meddle in the affairs of the war.

Thirador walked out of the main hall and onto the overlook of the city. When his housecarl finally caught up with him she said, "It's an honor to meet you my thane." The black haired warrior said shyly.

"Tell me, what does it mean to be a thane?" he asked her

"The Jarl has recognized you as a person of great importance. Guards will know to listen to you should you give a command. And as your housecarl I am sworn to defend you and all you own with my life if necessary." She said the last part more quiet than the rest and lowered her head.

"I see." Thirador said. "Well, let us go get a drink. It's getting dark and my body is stiff."

"Yes my thane." Lydia said with her shy expression.

"Ok stop." Thirador told her with his hand raised. "Enough with the 'My Thane' stuff. Just call me Thirador." When she remained quiet he said "It's alright, I don't bite… at least not where people can see." Lydia turned pink and he laughed as they kept walking.

They walked by the vendor's stalls again and Thirador browsed supplies for the journey tomorrow. He decided that they would leave for the Graybeards as soon as possible. He saw a woman that looked differently

"Excuse me Madame but you're not from here are you?" Thirador asked

The woman put her hand on her face and said "Oh great. Another clueless suitor."  
"I'm sorry?" he said confused

She put her hand down, looking at him odd "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yes I am. I was wondering where you came from." He told her.

"Oh, I'm from Cyrodill. I apologize for thinking you had planned on trying to mate with me. When men around here find out you're a single woman then they flock to you like crows on a carcass. But none of them are as bad as that damn bard Mikael. Some of the things he says to everyone about how he'll 'conquer me like a true Nord'. It can be degrading." She said embarrassed.

Thirador was astonished that anyone would say something about a woman like that in front of people. "Have you told him to stop?" he asked and she nodded. "Would you like me to _persuade_ him to change his ways?"

The woman laughed and said "You're welcome to try but I don't expect him to listen. My name is Carlotta by the way, Carlotta Valentia."

"Pleasure to meet you Carlotta, I am Thirador." He said.

They departed and Thirador went star into the inn. He said down at the bar and got two tankards of mean, handing one to Lydia.

"My thane I can't drink and protect you." Lydia said trying to hand the drink back

"I insist. And I told you to call me Thirador. As punishment for disobeying a direct order, I command you to drink that mead." He said

Lydia sighed and downed the cup in about five seconds. When she got done her face was red and she coughed a couple times, but held most of it to look tough in front of her thane.

Thirador laughed and said "A pretty woman that can hold a sword _and_ hold her alcohol."

Lydia replied with a small shy smile. With his newly accumulated wealth from Bleak Falls Barrow and from selling some things from the place, he bought everyone enough mead and ale that someone had to go get another wagon full. He was not drunk yet which confused him because he consumed about half a dozen glasses full. When he heard a lute start to play he jumped from his seat and went to find the source. He saw a wiry blonde haired man both playing and singing badly. Thirador walked over and asked the man his name.

"The name is Mikael. Better find a woman fast, there won't be any left after Mikael gets a hold of them." The bard said with a wink.

"You need to leave Carlotta Valentia alone. She asked you to stop, so stop." Thirador said calmly.

"I'm sorry friend. That fiery Imperial is mine." Mikael said and put stopped playing his lute.

Thirador took a threatening step towards the little man "I said stop."

"Or what?" Mikael said and got nose to nose with Thirador. "You aren't going to do a damn thing you oversize-"  
Thirador didn't give him time to finish before he picked up the bard and threw him into a wall. He walked over to Mikael and the little thing broke the lute over his head, and then proceeded to jump on Thirador slapping and punching. Thirador had it. He grabbed Mikael and pulled him off his back. Thirador punched Mikael over and over until the bard wasn't conscious anymore. He then realized that the entire tavern was quiet. He looked around with the top of his forehead bleeding slightly. The whole place erupted in cheers and they continued to drink. The Whiterun guards walked in asking who was fighting and the cheering people pointed them to Thirador and Mikael. As they approached, they recognized his face and one of them said "Are you alright thane? Why were you and this man fighting? Did he attack you? What would you like us to do?"

"No no no he didn't attack me. Actually I started the fight. He was bothering Carlotta Valentia. As for what you are to do, I want to take this man and put him somewhere outside. But on your way, all of you get something to warm your bellies." He said and threw them some money.

"Yes sir!" they all said and marched off with the sleazy little bard

"You seemed to handle that well enough." A voice behind him said

He turned to find Ysolda standing behind him holding two bottles of wine. "And here I thought I would be drinking alone tonight." He said with a grin.

He accepted her bottle of wine and they drank along with the others. Alcohol was flowing like the rivers. Ysolda was getting evermore naughty. And after a few hours he rented two rooms. One for him and his company and the other for Lydia. Who he had found passed out on the floor surrounded by three or four men with black eyes or bloody lips and noses. Obviously they had made unwanted approaches.

He picked her up and hauled her to the room he got and took of her armor. He was glad she had a shirt on under it so she didn't get embarrassed in the morning. He had a hard time standing up from the effects of the alcohol. And he found Ysolda standing at the door, just as drunk.

"Wh- what are y- you looking at? Come and he- help a drunk man." Thirador squeezed out.

Ysolda giggled and stumbled over to pull him up. They walked into Thirador's room and he wasted no time. He grabbed her and kissed her over and over working his way down her neck. Then he yanked off her dress faster than he thought was possible, and saw her naked body. He loved it. She walked over to the bed and dropped down, lifting a leg in the air and motioned for him to come over. She took off his armor for him and his under clothes. He took her right there making her moan and gasp with satisfaction. When they were both done, they lay there next to each other. Thirador ran his finger up and down her sleeping, nude body. Today was coming out to be one of his better days, and he drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Hello any readers i might have. I'm terribly sorry about it taking so long for a new chapter. i FINALLY got a job and have been quite busy going from highschool to my dual enrollment classes at college and then going to work. By the way i know my chapter ends in a bit of a cliffhanger but youll have to come back to find out what he learns! Enjoy!

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 6: High Hrothgar

Thirador woke early the next morning next to a sleeping Ysolda. He smiled at the thought of the night before. _Too bad every night can't be like last night._ He then very carefully removed himself from the bed, not wanting to wake her. He donned his armor and walked into Lydia's room, waking her up. She groaned and rolled out of bed complaining about her head being stepped on by a horse. Thirador chuckled to himself and waited for her to put her armor on and helped her down the stairs. He bought some bread, cheese, and mead for their breakfast. Lydia politely declined the alcohol, for her head still pounding from the night before. Soon enough they left Whiterun on their journey to the Greybeards. He had discovered that the strange men secluded themselves on the mountain fortress of High Hrothgar. As they went by the stables, Thirador thought about buying horses so they wouldn't have to walk all the way there. He saw the owner forking hay into one of the stalls so he went to talk to him.

"Excuse me, how much for the dappled palomino and the paint?" Thirador asked, eying the only two he saw not filthy.

The man turned and wiped his nose. Staring at the two disdainfully "It'd be a thousand each. Tack and all." He said grinning

"A thousand septims per horse? That's ridiculous." Thirador said annoyed.

"Well if you don't like my prices, you're welcome to walk wherever you're going." The man said.

"Fine. But I can only afford the palomino." Thirador said as he handed the man some coins.

"Good doing business with you sir." The nasty man said.

Thirador got the horse and saddled up. He held his hand out for Lydia to take. She looked at his curiously and said, "Wouldn't it be wise for me to walk and you ride, my thane?"

Thirador rolled his eyes "What have I told you about calling me that? And no, it wouldn't be wise. It'd be slower. Now get on the horse." And he held his hand out further.

Lydia sighed and took her thanes hand and climbed onto the horse behind him. They rode fairly hard but not hard enough to kill the horse. They made it to Riverwood in about an hour. Thirador wanted to stop for a short time to speak with Ralof and Hadvar. To ask how they were doing and such. He walked up the steps to Alvor's house and he heard the banging of steel. So he walked around the side to see not only Alvor working, but Ralof and Hadvar as well. Alvor would hold the steel with the tongs and the two taller men would take turns pounding it with hammers, one after the other. It made the work go by quite fast. He waited till they were done before he said anything. "I see you two are getting along quite well?" he said, startling the men.

Alvor greeted him with a booming laugh, "How are you doing my boy!" he then walked over to Thirador and scooping him up in a bear hug. Swinging him around. However he got very still fast and Thirador noticed that Lydia's sword was pressed on the back of Alvor's neck.

"If you would kindly put my thane down please." She said. And she wasn't asking.

Slowly Alvor put him down and he turned to look at Lydia. "Did I hear you correctly? You said thane?" Alvor asked.

Lydia nodded, "I am his housecarl, his protector. My thane recovered an artifact for the Jarl's wizard, something to do with the dragons returning, and killed a dragon outside of Whiterun." She said

Alvor turned to him and said "You have become a thane of Whiterun hold in only a week? I wouldn't have thought it possible. However you did get _these_ two numbskulls to quit arguing for a while. They started again right after you left." Alvor chuckled "Had to give em a good lashing myself. But, nothing a bit of work won't fix. Since they've been helping, I've gotten done quite a bit faster. Made more money because of it too. Now, where exactly are you going? You seem ready to travel quite a bit farther than Riverwood with all that supplies." Alvor asked curiously.

"High Hrothgar. Apparently the Greybeards seem to think I'm some 'Dragonborn'. I have no clue what that means but I'm hoping to find out." Thirador told him

Alvor's eyes widened. "Could the legends be true? A Dragonborn? Consider yourself lucky, you're blessed to have a gift such as that." Alvor told him

Thirador nodded. "So I have heard." He looked around the sky to see it was cloudy. _Probably means there's a damn blizzard coming._ The cold didn't bother him. It was just irritating that he wouldn't be able to see well enough to get where he was going. "Well, I came to check on you all before making our way up the mountain." Thirador said, eyeing the two cousins with the last part.

"I can assure you that we are fine. The work has been good for these two. They have started to grow close again even though I doubt that they would admit it." Alvor told him

"Good, I hope you'll abandon this war while you're here. Realize that you shouldn't be fighting each other. Now come on all of you. I'm buying you all some drinks before we leave."

Hadvar and Ralof smiled and walked to the tavern and Alvor followed laughing. Lydia however, made a worried and disgusted expression muttering, "A pox on all mead"

After their drinks, Thirador and Lydia were back on the road again. This time at a brisk walk so to give the horse a rest.

"My thane how do you know those men?" Lydia asked form behind him.

"You have a hard time obeying. I told you not to call me that. And it's a very long story." He told her

She was quiet for a moment before saying "I think we have some time if you don't mind telling me."

"Hmm, very well." He said. And he told her. Everything from the waking up in the wagon, to the chopping block, to the bear, to finding out about Ralof and Hadvar's bad past, and all his adventures for Whiterun. Some of it she was quiet, other parts she gasped. After he was done talking, he could tell she was thinking.

"What about your past?" She finally asked.

"Well you see, I would tell you but I can't remember much. Apparently the imperials found me almost dead and a priestess slipped me some kind of healing potion. The effects are some minor amnesia that should go away. So you can ask again in a few weeks. It's all coming back slowly." He told her

Before she could ask another question, a courier ran up to them and asked "Are you Thirador?"

Thirador nodded and the courier handed him a note in an envelope, then left. Thirador handed the note back to Lydia and said "Could you read this for me? My eyes are hurting."

'I can't my thane. It is your letter." Lydia said.

Thirador looked at her and said "And you're my housecarl. Besides that wasn't a very could excuse. Now if you please."

Lydia couldn't meet his gaze so she looked down. "I can't because I can't read my thane. I'm sorry." She said.

Thirador stopped the horse and turned to Lydia lifting her head so she could look at him. "The only thing you should be sorry about is calling me thane again. Can you really not read?" she shook her head "Then I'll have to teach you. It isn't hard and is quite fun once you get the hang of it."

He then began teaching her about the letters. About how each one sounded and vowels and consonants. Everything was going smoothly till he smelled smoke. Thirador stopped and listened but her heard nothing. He rode up slower and saw what was left of Helgen. Even after a week it was still smoldering from dragons fire. It wasn't much, most of the buildings burned and what was left was crumbling. Burnt corpses still clad in armor were strewn everywhere. The stench was terrible from the burnt hair and flesh, to the rot. Lydia jumped off the horse and wretched of the side of the grass. So Thirador pulled out a piece of cloth and dabbed it with whiskey, telling Lydia to cover her nose with it. They weaved their way around the ruins and went their own way. For some reason this felt all too familiar to Thirador. They kept moving and practicing Lydia's letters. She was learning fast, and Thirador could tell she was having fun with it. Soon they set up camp for the night. It wasn't very dark but Thirador was tired and wanted nothing but some hot food and sleep. Lydia pulled out some vegetables and made a stew. It was good for the meager amount and he ate hungrily. The fire was fairly large, so it would keep away animals and keep them warm. As they lied down, Thirador began watching the stars. He loved that, it was so peaceful and quiet. Soon however he heard Lydia's snores. It was loud for a woman. He chuckled and drifted off to sleep. He awoke the next morning quite early and began to make breakfast. It was simple potato soup with a dash of butter and salt. When it was done he went to gently wake Lydia, which resulted in getting a solid punch in the groin. He doubled over groaning that his manhood was under such abuse. Lydia fully awoke and looked sorry for him

"My thane I am sorry! I swear I didn't mean to! How can I make it up to you?" She kept apologizing frantically.

Thirador grinned and said "Well you could kiss it and make it better but I doubt you will so let's just eat breakfast."

Lydia turned dark red as the blood rushed to her face. She sat down as he poured her some soup, staring at him while she ate. He caught her looking and said "Lydia it was only a joke. Lighten up."

She said nothing as she kept eating, only stopped looking at him. After they broke camp Thirador helped Lydia with her letters some more. Explaining how the different sounds. And dialects, he decided that when they stopped for the night he would show her what they looked like. In a few hours, they got to a town called Ivarstead. It was a rather small town, with nothing remarkable about it. They stopped at the inn and Thirador got directions to High Hrothgar, also giving a warming eye to the barmaid. Walking along, they encountered a man and an elf on bridge in front of the mountain talking.

"Going to make the seven thousand steps today Klimmek?" the elf asked

"Not today. I'm just too tired to make the climb." The bald man with the beard said.

Thirador walked up to the men and said "I couldn't help but overhear. You said you make the climb up to High Hrothgar?" he asked

Klimmek nodded "I take food to the Greybeard. It's kind of an understanding we have. They don't get out much and it wouldn't be right to charge then for some dried meat and vegetables. But I can't today, I'm not as young as I once was and there are a lot of steps" He said

Thirador nodded then said "What if I took them for you? I will be going up shortly anyway."

"Would you? I'd be most appreciative. How could I repay you?" Klimmek asked?

Thirador laughed, "Well for starters you can watch my horse for a few days if you would." He said.

"Of course! I have a stable at my farm that isn't being used." Klimmek told him. "What's your name traveler?"

"I am Thirador and my traveling partner is Lydia." Thirador said as he took the supplies from Klimmek. "Well we better be off. It was a pleasure to meet you." And with that he walked off towards the steps.

Lydia trailed behind him and asked "Why were you in such a hurry to leave my thane?"

"He just seems like the kind of person who would carry on a conversation to long. I didn't mean to seem rude; I was just ready to get this over with. It's going to be a cold night." He told her. And he was right. As the sun started to sink down and as they started to rise higher. The weather began to get quite chilly. It didn't bother Thirador the slightest, in fact, he liked the cold. Lydia however did not take it as well. He could hear her teeth chattering as they trudged through the snow and the wind picked up. Thirador took off his fur over cloak and wrapped it around Lydia to keep her a little bit warmer. She tried to refuse but he was stubborn saying that it wouldn't do her any good if she was frozen. When darkness completely descended, he made a fire and told Lydia to sit near it. He then quickly ran a stick through the flames over and over to get it warm but not burning. After he was done, he took Lydia's hands and made her grab the stick. He said it would keep her from getting Rockjoint. He pitched the tent out of the thick canvass he purchased in Whiterun and packed snow around the sides so it would incubate it a little. When he was finally done, he sat on a log near the fire and pulled out a pipe. It was a long stemmed pipe made from a strange plant in Cyrodill. No doubt he could find better wood to make one from but this one he bought at Belethor's general goods store in Whiterun, along with a six ounce sack of tobacco. He packed his bowl and lit it with a flame from the fire, dragging out puffs long and slow. Lydia looked at him to see what he was doing and asked "What is that my thane?"

He looked at her sternly. "Lydia, if you call me that again I'll be forced to punish you like a child. By bending you over my knee and paddling your backside."

Lydia turned red and looked down.

Thirador chuckled softly before saying," This, is a pipe and tobacco. You put the tobacco inside the bowl of the pipe and you smoke it. This tobacco isn't the best but it will do." He told her and took a puff off of the pipe.

Lydia shivered again, tremors racking her body.

"Here drink this. It will warm your insides a bit." He said and handed her a flask of his Graybuck whiskey.

She drank deeply and thanked him for the liquor that warmed her belly. When it was time to turn in for the night, Lydia continued to shiver from the cold. She was used to chilly weather but not the bitter cold so far up the mountain. Thirador had her remove her armor and wrap up in most of the furs. She seemed a little embarrassed but complied to her thanes orders. Thirador removed armor and shit and lie next to Lydia with his back next to hers. After an hour of not being able to sleep from Lydia's constant chattering, Thirador rolled over and wrapped Lydia up is his arms. He held her closer to his body to warm her up. At first she was stiff, but he could tell it was working because soon she was loose and fast asleep. He grinned and followed her closely to sleep.

Thirador awoke first and slowly got up so he wouldn't wake Lydia. He made some breakfast and when it was almost done he could hear buckles and clasp being fastened. Lydia came out of the tent and handed back Thirador's fur cloak. He shook his head

"You'll need it more than I. it is going to get a little bit colder the closer we get to the monastery." He said

"But my thane you'll freeze to death." She said desperately

"Lydia… what have I told you? And I can assure you that I will not freeze. Now keep it, that's an order." He told her

They ate their breakfast and continued up the steps as they saw the stone building, Thirador got an odd feeling. He quickly stopped and motioned for Lydia to do the same.

"Something isn't right…" He said

Before he could say anything else, a frost troll busted out of some hidden place. It let out a gargled roar and charged the two at full speed. Thirador shoved Lydia out of the way as the beast soon crashed into him with full power. He landed on his back with the wind knocked out of him and stars forming in his eyes. The white troll looked at him with hungry eyes and slowly circled him. Thirador stood and drew his sword, mirroring the troll move for move. When it came at him again he was ready. He ducked under the beasts arm and stabbed it in the side, not doing much damage but wounding it still. The troll roared in fury and attacked again, this time catching the blade across the face. When it turned to attack again Thirador gave it no time, he quickly sent his sword completely through its chest. The monster grunted a few times then fell over. Thirador was panting as he pulled out his sword and wiped off the blood. He turned around and saw Lydia on her knees with her face down.

"I'm sorry my thane. I have failed to defend you." She said, choking on the last words.

Thirador looked at her and chuckled. "No my friend, you haven't. I _pushed_ you out of the way remember? You couldn't do much on your back. Now on your feet we're almost there.

Thirador marveled at the craftsmanship of the ancient temple in front of him. It was Nord, that much was obvious from the designs on the walls. He walked up the dark gray stone stairs and though the front doors. He found himself in an old room, it seemed to be the main hall. The light was dim and an odd _power_ came from the place. He could feel it with his entire being. He then noticed a man walking down the steps across the room. The man was older, maybe in his sixties or seventies. However he seemed ancient in his eyes. The man stopped in the center of the room and said, "Greetings Dragonborn. We have been waiting."

Thirador then realized that there were three other men around the room watching him. He thought for a moment and said, "I'm going to go ahead and assume that you are the greybeards… if that is true, maybe you could explain why you have summoned me here. Everyone seems to think it is important, even the people in more powerful positions."

The first man nodded, "It is true we are the greybeards, masters and you could say _priests_ in the way of the voice. We have called you here to teach you the meaning of what it is to be Dragonborn. But first prove to us that you actually ARE he of the Dragons blood. Let us taste your voice!" the old man ended in a raised voice.

Thirador complied, "FUS" he shouted, knocking the four men back a few steps and causing Lydia to cover her ears and shudder at the sound.

"It has been over two hundred years since the last Dragonborn," The old man said slowly "My name is Arngier. This is master Borri, master Einarth, and master Wulfgar. I will speak for them because their voices can be fatal to those with untrained ears. Come dragon born we would speak with you."

And so they spoke, they taught Thirador, they sent him on journeys and adventures. He learned the way of the voice. He also met their leader Paarthunaax who turned out to be an ancient dragon. Thirador went on many quests and adventures afterwards. Meeting new people, Daedra, and even some of the gods themselves. His name was feared and respected throughout all the nine holds, and all of Tamriel itself. He became the hero, the lover, the vanquisher, the slayer of Alduin the world eater, the destroyer of Harkon the vampire king, the Harbinger of the Companions, the leader of the Nightingales, the Arch-mage of the college of Winterhold, the leader of the Dawnguard, and so much more. He became thane in all the nine holds, befriended all the Jarls, stopped Ulfric Stormcloaks unjust racism, taught Jarl Elisif forgiveness, he bled and fought for the defenseless, gave to the poor, and taught the illiterate. However, all greatness does not come without sacrifice… for he regained his memory through the work of Kynareth himself, and it tore his whole world apart.


	7. Chapter 7

The Skyrim Guardian

Chapter 7: The Haunting Past

"So you must be Kyne" Thirador said to the holy looking person in front of him. Thirador had just annihilated the Daedric army of followers that were loyal to Molag Bal. They had intent on using some kind of black magic to destroy Molag's counterpart, Kyne.

"You would be correct. However I already know who YOU are." The god said.

"Really and how do you know who I might be?" Thirador asked bewildered.

Kyne raised his eyebrows and said, "Your name isn't exactly whispered in hushed tones for slaying the world eater, Dragonborn."

"Ah" Thirador sighed, "That should have been obvious."

Kyne smiled," Yes it should have been. I am deeply grateful for your actions, even though you don't affiliate yourself in my name nor any of the other gods. If I may ask… why is that?"

Thirador shrugged, "I never saw a reason to. The gods never did anything for me. Why should I raise a drink in their honor if I have never seen them help someone directly or in any manner?"

Kyne looked obviously displeased however not angry. "I can see the logic in your words, we divines can be rather less caring than we should be. Well since you haven't been rewarded properly for your good deeds that you have done with a noble heart, allow me to be the first. Name anything, anything you would like and I shall grant it if is within my power. Which it should be seeing how I am a god and all." Kyne ended his sentence with a smile.

Thirador didn't know what to say. He had never seen a god be _generous_ before. "I am honored.. however I don't really know anything I could want. I have everything I could have ever wanted. Money, large swaths of land, a beautiful home with two adopted orphans, I really don't know" he said.

Kyne chuckled, "Well there has to be SOMETHING you might want."

"Could… could you restore my memory? All of it? Not just the bits and pieces I have blurred images from?" Thirador asked him.

Kyne's mood instantly went dark with sadness. "I will keep my word Dragonborn, be sure of it. However I beg you to reconsider. Some things are better left forgotten and your past is one of them."

"Please Kyne… you don't know what it's like to get only emotions of things you can't remember. I will be happy and all of a sudden I am angry or sad from something I can't clearly see." Thirador told him.

"If I grant you back what you have forgotten, your sadness and anger will increase tenfold." Kyne told him softly.

"If you know anything of my recent adventures in Skyrim you would know that sadness and anger are normal for my losses of friends and companions." Thirador said dryly.

"Very well Thirador, only make me a promise." Thirador nodded, "Promise me you wont hold it against me when I make you relive your past." Kyne said.

And Thirador promised. Kyne clapped his hands and blue and red light flew from his finger tips and into Thirador's face, peaceful sleep found him as the most painful memories he could ever imagine poured into his mind. He awoke on top of a snowy mountain with the pain and agony of his mental breakdown. He screamed and tore at the snow, ripping his sword from its scabbard and hacking violently at trees. Nearly cutting them down in one swing. All his anger started building up into a shout, a shout he didn't know but knew at the same time. He couldn't contain it any longer and he unleashed it into the mountain side," FUS TRAN SKAG!" the entire top half of the mountain exploded into chunks or rock and dirt flying off onto the ground. The strength of his thu'um was so profound that his throat tore and he began to choke on his blood. He double over coughing and hacking out goblets of blood and spit onto the pure white snow. The magnitude of his shout attracted Paarthunaax, leader of the grey beard order. He perched himself on a small outcropping near where Thirador was lying on his side sobbing.

"What troubles you Dovakiin?" the old dragon asked.

"That is none of your concern…" Thirador told him as he stood wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"My apologies for snooping, Dovakiin. It is just that I could hear and feel the power, anger, and sorrow of your thu'um all the way from the throat of the world. I knew only you could have produced a shout of such magnitude, friend." Paarthunaax said.

Thirador grunted and went to sit down on a nearby log. He pulled out his pipe and filled it with tobacco, puffing and fuming.

"I do not condemn you for being concerned for my well being Paarthunaax. It is only that I have regained my memory, all of it to be exact, and am not exactly pleased with what I have discovered." Thirador said.

"Hmm an ancient dovah proverb is this krosis ahrk rahgot los rundak do laas vothni hil. Do not let this corrupt your mind and heart, Dovakiin. If you wish to speak of that which is troubling you, you know where to find me." Paarthunaax rumbled, then he opened his giant leathery wings and departed.

Thirador sat on that log for three days and three nights without moving to eat, sleep or relieve himself. All he could do was fume and think. He had the darkest thoughts of anger, depressions, and vengeance. At the morning of the fourth day, Thirador decided he would finally leave. He weaved his way through snow and trees, down what was left of the mountainside. Once he found a rode, he trudged along towards the nearest town, which happened to be Dawnstar. He bartered a fur cloak with a hood off of a peddler going the opposite direction about a mile from the city limits of Dawnstar. Once he arrived in the town, he went straight to the tavern for some food and large amounts of alcohol. He had never been in the Dawnstar inn before because he wasn't in Dawnstar for more than a few hours at a time. He pulled the hood closer around his face because he didn't want anyone to recognize him and bother him with their troubles in the state he was in. As he walked through the door, the first thing he realized was the instant warmth in the room. He didn't realize how cold he actually was until now. Thirador went to the bar and ordered a bowl of soup, a wedge of cheese, a loaf of bread, a room, and finally four bottles of Graybuck whiskey. He sat down alone at the table in the corner where he could see everything if he wanted to, even though he didn't. It was dark in that corner, and at that moment invisibility was something he preferred. The tavern obviously didn't struggle from hard times, the whole room was filled with people. They were drinking and laughing and fighting. Thirador overheard a few men talking to each other in drunken tones.

"Aye I would let 'at sweet red headed lass test her thirsty lips on me royal septa'" The first man said

"Royal scepter? More like a shit stick!" The second man said

"Ha! Gotcha ther' snipe! But you have to admit, she is the finest thing there ever were in this town." The third man said.

"Got that right!" The first said.

Thirador rolled his eyes. Some men don't know what respect towards a woman is. He was filled with disgust at their words and was about to tell them to shut their mouths before he heard a voice of such beauty, it made him stop. He looked past the men to see a stunning woman with fiery red hair and a beautiful face and figure, sing with and even more beautiful voice. She was singing 'The Dragonborn Comes' slow and steady. _If only she could have sung something else_ , Thirador thought. He hated the song. He didn't like people praising him like a god, but when this woman sang, he wanted to hear it over and over. At the final words of her medley, the room all applauded sending the woman's face as red as her hair. A large beast of a man strutted over her clad in furs that hadn't seemed to have been washed since they were skinned, he began looking her up and down.

"My my my, your voice is like lady Mara herself is singing it. Won't you come warm my bed my sweet plum?" The brute said.

"No I will not, and I'm not your plum or anyone else's Durem." The red haired woman said.

They began to squabble back and forth at each other. The brute wasn't going to take no for an answer it appeared. When the argument began to get more heated, Thirador was about to make the man go back down when he heard a voice.

"Now Durem you're not causing any trouble are you?" The voice said. It sounded like that of a snakelike man. Thirador looked over to see an Imperial officer with arms crossed. Two guards stood behind him with hands on their weapons. "At my families estate you would be whipped for speaking to beautiful woman like that." _So that explains it, a pampered pup with authority from money_.

"Uh no sir I wasn't." the brute said.

"Good. Now make yourself scarce." The officer said. Durem quickly walked away. "Oh Karita, when you accept fate and be mine? If you were then you wouldn't have to work in this shithole, and you wouldn't have to deal with these… men." The man said

The woman smiled a fake smile and said," Oh Merelus, when will you accept the fact that I will _never_ become yours. Go shag a dog for all I care."

"After all I have done for you and you still show such venom towards me?" Merelus asked

"All you have done for me? All you have done is scare people off no one of decency will hardly speak to me! Go to hell Merelus." Karita said.

Merelus snarled and said, "Mark my words _wench_ I will have you. And you will learn to deal with it!"

"Big words for a little man." Karita said with a smirk. The man raised his hand to slap Karita, however as his hand descended it was caught , midair, by Thirador.

"I believe the lady wished you to leave her alone." Thirador said. He shoved Merelus back, tripping him. Thirador had his sword out as soon as he let go of Merelus's arm, and had disarmed both of his guards. Pointing his sword at their necks.

"I wish to be left at peace and so does this woman. Now be gone, all of you. Before my mercy runs out." Thirador said.

The guards lifted up Merelus who shoved them off saying, "You will regret this! I promise you!" and stormed out with his men following.

Thirador went back to his table to resume his meal and his whiskey when Karita walked over.

"Thank you stranger. Not many men are descent enough or have the balls to stand up for a lady." Karita said softly.

Thirador grunted not bothering to speak because his mouth was full and his mood was completely soured once again. Karita waited for a proper response. When she got none, she walked away to resume fulfilling her duties in the tavern. The meal was delicious and Thirador had almost completely finished when he heard the door to the inn open once again. He merely looked up to see a female Imperial legate walk towards Karita and it seemed she was asking some questions. Karita nodded to the woman's questions and pointed at the table where Thirador was sitting. The woman moved towards his table and took a seat opposite of him. Thirador barely noticed her presence. He was too wrapped up in his own mind and whiskey to pay attention to much else. They both sat quietly will Thirador finally said, "Are you here to arrest me legate?"

The woman sat quietly for a moment longer, trying his patience before saying, "No I am not. I'm here to ask you a few questions, if you're willing."

Thirador finished his food and what was left of the second bottle. He made sure the hood was still covering the majority of his face before he opened up the third bottle of whiskey and said, "Very well, but know my answers will be short and to the point, for I am weary."

The legate nodded, "Good, my questions will be the same. How did you know I was a legate?" she asked.

"Armor." He replied

"What brings you to Dawnstar?" Was her second question

"Passing through." He told her

"Why did you assault an Imperial officer?" she asked.

"He was about to assault a woman who wasn't interested in him." he said flatly.

The legate leaned back and said, "That doesn't help your position as of now. You could be arrested or executed for your actions."

Thirador rolled his eyes, "Please cut the crap legate. I know you didn't come here with intent of ill will."

She rose an eyebrow, "Oh? And what makes you think that?"

"First" he said, "You are an Imperial legate who didn't come in with any guards or shackles. Second, your mood gave it away instantly that you don't really care one way or another what happened to the runt."

She looked at him for a moment longer before saying, "You're right. I don't care what happened to the little milk drinker. He is becoming more trouble than he is worth but his father's constant funding to the army puts him in a higher position. Also, what makes you think I need guards or shackles to bring you in? Do you think I couldn't best you?"

"No I don't think you could." He said hotly, "Now I have a few questions."

"Very well." The legate said

"I thought Dawnstar was Stormcloak territory?" he asked.

"It was. However when the Dragonborn convened the meeting for a truce, our lands got swapped. The Stormcloaks obtained Markarth, while we obtained the Rift. Right under their southern flank, the Stormcloaks fought tooth and nail to get it back after the world eater was destroyed, pulling a force of their troops out of Dawnstar. We took the advantage and overran Dawnstar before they could do anything about it. I was a Imperial supporter and an old war veteran so they reinstated me and made me the commander of the pale." The legate told him.

"Ahh I see now." Thirador said.

"Anymore questions?" she asked.

"Just your name." He said

"Brina Merilis." She then stood and extended her hand, "What is your name friend?"

"I'm not your friend. And it's nothing to be concerned of." He said

"Very well." She said and lowered her hand. "I supposed I will be off."

Thirador nodded and bid her farewell. Thirador had already gone through half of the third bottle when Karita began to sing again. He decided to stay in his seat and listen. He listened for much longer than he expected. The red haired beauty sang and sang and sang. Something about her voice and her appearance made her glow. She took away all of his fear and anger and sorrow, relying on nothing but her sweet melodies. When Karita finished, Thirador had all of his pain brought back so fast, he thought he would past out. He quickly rose and went to his room, striping into nothing but his under cloth, and sank beneath the covers of his bed. He uncorked his final bottle for a night side drink. Sleep found the pained man soon and he fell into a dreamless state.


End file.
